Growing up as the “baby of the family,” I was always the go-to target of jokes and the easiest sibling to pick on. I admired my siblings and wanted to grow up to be just like them. Fortunately for me, I have three of the best people to look up to. While I can remember running up the stairs away from the dining room table in tears because of something my brother said, there was never a time when there wasn’t a knock on my door with an apology (even if it was because mom told him to) and to make sure that I was okay. I would get picked on and pestered by my siblings, but if anyone else gave me a hard time, they would not stand for it.

I wouldn't change a thing about growing up, even though I often felt alienated since I was a considerable amount younger than everyone else. Each of my siblings acted as an example in different ways. They set the example of how to be a student athlete, how to be a light in my faith, and how to treat others. They showed me how to continuously pursue the things that are important to me. They taught me how to tell my parents when I did poorly on a test and how to break the news that I got a tattoo. They paved the road at our high school for me to be associated well with teachers and coaches. They let me be myself, but they also set a good legacy for me to step into and expand. Thanks to my siblings, I have a thick skull and a big heart. I have the love that each of them gave me and I get to share that with anyone I meet.

The most common stereotype of being the baby is being spoiled. And I’ll agree to that – I’m spoiled with the greatest older siblings. Even with them hours away, I feel so loved by the phone calls, texts, and Snapchats. Over the last few years, I have grown closer to my siblings than anyone else. By being the baby of the family, I may not remember when they were younger, I may be the target to tease, and I may be called spoiled, but I get to stand beside them on their wedding days, I get to come home from college to spend time with them, and I get to grow closer to them every year that our age gap seems to diminish.

Being the youngest of four, all I wanted was to be with my older siblings growing up. I wanted to play the same sports that they played. I wanted to hang out with their friends because it was fun to be surrounded by older people. For awhile I thought that I wanted to anything to set myself apart from being "their little sister," but now as a 19-year-old I'm back to wanting to be just like them. I still have the same siblings who have been, are, and always will be my biggest role models and my hardest critics.

Because of my siblings, I have best friends that will never leave me. I have learned to be tender-hearted and thick-skulled. I have learned to love hard and forgive fast. I have learned that not everyone will like me and not everything will go my way, but that my family will always be there to pick me up, dust me off, and set me on a better path. I wouldn't trade being the baby of the family for anything.